Cheteshwar Pujara scored his 25th Ranji Trophy century and 18th First Class double hundred, surpassing Brian Lara and joining the elite 21,000-run club.
New Delhi: Pujara scored his 25th Ranji Trophy century, turning it into his 18th First Class double hundred during the second round match for Saurashtra against Chhattisgarh in Rajkot.
Batting on Monday, Pujara achieved his century off 197 balls while Saurashtra chased Chhattisgarh’s first-innings total of 578/7 declared. This milestone marked Pujara’s 66th First Class hundred, surpassing Brian Lara’s record in the format.
Pujara continued to break records later in the day, scoring his 18th double century off 348 balls. He now ranks fourth on the prestigious list of batters with the most First Class double centuries, trailing only Don Bradman (37), Wally Hammond (36), and Patsy Hendren (22).
The innings marked the 36-year-old Pujara’s ninth Ranji Trophy double century, tying him with Paras Dogra for the most double hundreds in the tournament’s history. The Saurashtra stalwart has also achieved two triple centuries, with his highest score being 352 against Karnataka in the 2012-13 season.
During his innings, Pujara surpassed 21,000 first-class runs in his 273rd match, becoming the fourth-highest run-scorer and century-maker in first-class cricket among Indians, trailing only behind Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar, and Rahul Dravid. Despite being absent from the Test squad since last year’s World Test Championship final against Australia at the Oval, the 36-year-old has consistently accumulated runs in the red-ball format, amassing 829 runs in the previous Ranji Trophy season at an impressive average of 69.08 across eight matches.
In 2024, Pujara has already made a significant impact by scoring six centuries in 16 first-class matches while representing Saurashtra and Sussex in the County Championship.
Pujara’s 25 centuries rank him second among active players in the Ranji Trophy, only behind Paras Dogra’s 30, and with nearly 7,500 runs, he stands as Saurashtra’s second-highest run-scorer in the tournament, trailing only Sitanshu Kotak.
Most First Class hundreds (Indians)
81 – Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar
68 – Rahul Dravid
66 – Pujara
Most First Class runs (Indians)
25834 – Sunil Gavaskar
25396 – Sachin Tendulkar
23784 – Rahul Dravid
21115* – Pujara
Most First Class double hundreds
37 – Don Bradman
36 – Wally Hammond
22 – Patsy Hendren
18 – Pujara
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